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Well, Fall is here again and with it, change. For one, the dynamic in the dojo is in a very positive state of flux demographically-speaking --- not only is Jim back in town from Ontario (pleasantly surprising us all last night), but started on the mats again just as two young sisters (approx. 8 and 13) had their first beginner's class. They both seem eager to learn (the younger girl being pretty enthusiastic and the older sister a little more serious/intense) --- I took them through the basic ukemi rocking motion and Shikko before we practiced some Tae No Henka and beginner's Randori (simply getting out of the way of Tsuki attacks). Considering it was their very first class, the girls seem like really quick studies --- I hope they stick it out...I think we've also broken a dojo record: we've never had this many females practicing on the mats before! Needless to say, I'm rather excited about it. :-D

Test preparations have started again, and I'm gearing up to test for Ikkyu in a year. It's still tough to believe how time has flown by...I'll have to go into some detail on my own conditioning, "study" and practice preparations in my next post --- got to get back to work now. :-P